Need Help!!New

[woodsy]

We own rental property in South Carolina. We live in New York. The tennant above us had a SEVERE infestation of roaches due to FILTHY living conditions that the owner never bothered to monitor. Anyways our condo below them was infestated and I mean infested with roaches from there condo and we had to move 2 weeks of rentals which cost us over $1500. Anyways we are suing in small claims court to re-coup our money as it states in the bi-laws of the resort that an owner is responsible for damage caused by the tennant or renter to other condos.
We just received notice that the defendent (owner) denies charges and has retained a lawyer and wants a JURY trial. For peets sake this is small claims court! Anyways they just told us jury selection is october 1st and we are expected to be there which means we have to FLY down from New York which is more $$$$ and then they will set a date for trial which means TWO trips and more $$$$. Can WE the plaintiff request a non-jury trial or what the hell if we have to spend all this money we won't be making out in the longrun to re-coup our money. ANy HELP or info would be appreciated.

 

[stephenk]

typically, the trial starts once the jury is picked. Are you saying a jury will be picked and then the trial will begin some other date?

 

[woodsy]

The reply I got from the magistrate judge was "This notification will also serve the parties hereof that a court date will be set at the time of this jury selection.He/she/they are hereby instructed to contact the magisrate's office after jury selection date to determine their respective court date and time.

 

[BL]

Roaches are not born from filthiness !! Period !! For all you know those tenants could have been at a shopping Center ,a restaurant,Etc., picked up a female roach and not intentionally brought it home where it laid eggs , and you know the rest.

As for the problem , you could have called the owner to request a terminator rid your premises of them.If the landlord did not set that up,you could have made a complaint with the building code inspectors .

If you can-not show this "jury" that you attempted to have the problem rectified through proper channels , then they might counter sue you !!

 

[woodsy]

The owner was contacted 'numerous times by the regime of the resort. An inspector for pest control deemed that their condo was the cause of the problem due to "filthy" living conditions and that until the place was cleaned the problem would continue! We have pictures taken of the unit above us and it would make you sick. Roaches everywhere and beleive me this is an upscale resort! We have a statement from pest control, beleive me we have a LOT of ammunitation and eye witnesses that there is NO way this owner could win!

 

[BL]

Pest Control , King tut ,or anyone else, I don't give two hoots !!

Roaches DO-NOT appear because of even the most filthiest Tenant.

Roaches have been on this earth millions of years .

Roaches breed and lay eggs many times over , and 1 female to a few roaches inadvertently or knowingly brought into an otherwise roach free environment will find whats necessary to survive even if there is limited food particles there.

We have been accused of filthiness of roaches by a landlord ourselves,when we were NOT filthy people .The new tenant moved in had them from her prior apt. build.

While it turns my stomach to see ( yes i have cleaned a few ) , Filthy , disgusting Apts.,including rotten veggies in the fridge which was turned off , It discusses me that some Landlord or owner ignores the problem while it exist ,and blames it on filthy tenants.
( more so when they are NOT filthy ).

An inspector for pest control deemed that their condo was the cause of the problem due to "filthy" living conditions and that until the place was cleaned the problem would continue [ QUOTE]

The Inspector is WRONG. Until The termination methods are used ,these roaches will be there . Good Exterminator service is required for the ENTIRE Building Structure .

 

[JETX]

Okay, lets get back to the original questions for a second.... okay??

"We just received notice that the defendent (owner) denies charges and has retained a lawyer and wants a JURY trial. For peets sake this is small claims court!"
*** And yes, the defendant (or either party) can request a jury trial.

"Anyways they just told us jury selection is october 1st and we are expected to be there which means we have to FLY down from New York which is more $$$$ and then they will set a date for trial which means TWO trips and more $$$$."
*** And those costs are something that the defendant is very likely considering in the process of deciding for a jury trial.

"Can WE the plaintiff request a non-jury trial"
*** You can certainly request it, but it will not be granted. The right to a jury trial is covered in Amendment VII of our Bill of Rights: "In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."

"or what the hell if we have to spend all this money we won't be making out in the longrun to re-coup our money."
*** Again, those are factors you consider when deciding to bring a 'long-distance' lawsuit. And very likely being considered by the defendant.

Oh and in closing.... I agree with BL.... your chances of success in this claim are slim at best. Simply, you cannot PROVE that the roaches came from THAT neighbor or that he/she was negligent in getting the infestation.

 

[woodsy]

Want to thank all of you for your input. Here is a quote from an indiana university site:


The first step in attempting to prevent or get rid of a roach infestation is thorough sanitation. Try to make the facility meticulously clean. Clean all undersurfaces in the kitchen, cafeteria, and bathrooms. Store all food in tightly sealed containers (including pet food in classrooms). Clean all spills and food residue as soon as possible. Remove garbage daily before dusk when roaches begin foraging, and clean garbage and trash receptacles frequently. Remove all clutter.

As you can see SANITATION does indeed play a roll in cockroach infestation. Yes maybe they brought them in but the problem escalated due to food all over the place, garbage overflowing and unhealthy living conditions. Our condo and theirs shares a main drain pipe and duct system. We NEVER EVER had problems with roaches until the present tennants moved in of all the years we have owned. The adjoining condos which don't have pipes adjoined with this condo had NO infestation. Our condo is miticulously clean, no food,no garbage etc. When they took pictures of the condo above us it would make you SICK that anybody could live there! So, we are proceeding, we have pictures, affidavits and witnesses as to WHO"S condo was the cause of the problem and "yes" we can prove it! But please don't make fun of us or put us down, that is not what I came here for!

 

[BL]

Preventative control. If there's nothing to eat in your home, most roaches will just go away. Roaches like open sources of water and standing mess (like crumbs and things rotting at the bottom of a garbage bag). So to get rid of your roach problem, either make sure that you don't leave a mess around, or keep your mess tightly enclosed in thick plastic. Keeping your food wrapped and your dishes clean will probably lead your roaches to look for greener pastures.

At the very least, combining this effort with another pest control method will be highly effective.

Again, can you PROVE the other tenants intentionally brought these roaches in ?

Can you PROVE you "yourselves" contacted the proper authorities to make a formal building code violations complaint for Pest control to be mandated ?

You have to take reasonable measures and avenues to try to rectify a matter such as this or YOU are negligent yourselves .

A tenant can-not simply justify moving without taking reasonable measures first.

As you can see food sources are just 1 of the processes involved as you now so admit .

 

[woodsy]

Yes.pest control was notified the end lf MAY and have been treating that condo since then with infestation STILL present. Between ours and theirs it is like a toxic zone. And regime at the resort does a WEEKLY inspection of their condo to make SURE that they are keeping up on sanitation as that is how bad it is. And also let me point out of over 500 condos at this resort ours and theirs are the ONLY ones that have the infestation. Believe me we have been SICk about this and have gone through all the proper channels, have all documentation and have tried to resolve this with the owner to no avail. When they took him in HIS condo to see how bad it was he almost %$%^ his pants as he didn't "realize" how bad the condo was. Everytime they treat that condo upstairs those suckers come back down into ours.


Cockroaches are also well known for their habit of moving from one apartment to another, within the same apartment building or duplex. It is common for apartment tenants to blame their neighbors for their cockroaches, and in some cases, they may be justified. If a cockroach population in one unit gets too large, the high densities can trigger migration into nearby units to find more food and places to live. Other factors can also cause cockroaches to move. If the neighbor attempts to get rid of the infestation by improving sanitation or using an insecticide, these activities can also trigger movement into other units

 

[BL]

I would take JetX's word .. Personally I think you're on a fishing trip . You are both contradicting yourself and using language that
the other party just might use against you in their defense.

 

[woodsy]

Thanks for the Vote of confidence. Unfortunetley we are not on a fishing expedition and have documented proof .No other infestation was found in our building except theirs. Everything is on record and we are proceeding but thanks for the input!

 

[BL]

Anyways if you live in NY and your tenants above you had SEVERE INFESTATION of roaches,why are you flying to SC. for jury selection ? where you own property ?

After all your post and all my q's , you fail to answer them .

You're going to rely on what documents ? I thought you said the roaches above are being treated by a professional terminator service ?

Then they hurry down through the drain pipes to your condo , which is supposedly getting that sickening oder too of being treated .

Hmm i thought if a place was clean and treated the roaches would look for green ?

All I got to say is have a happy !!

 

[woodsy]

Never said we were flying to florida, we are flying to hilton head south carolina, I have answered all your questions and they keep treating the condo above us as it is so heavily infested and "yes" they keep comming down to our condo as you can see by my prior post that is what they do when there is a heavy infestation. Thanks for"mocking" us but if I prove you wrong, you can be sure I will be back to put it right back in your face! And we WILL win!!! We have pictures, we have documentation from pest control of the cleanliness of our condo and the filthyness of theirs, we have documentation from regime of the "uncooperative owner" and we have an expert witness in roach infestation which will prove your theory wrong, so keep laughing, so will we!

 

[BL]

The tennant above us had a SEVERE infestation of roaches [quote ]

had = no more

was = past

Dam ... What are you going to say next . The twilight zone is on at 10:00 PM on classic movies ? or the invasion of the gigantic roaches that were , but are ?

Come back when your done in SC. where the roaches apparently migrated to from NY, and laugh in my face.

I'm done w/ this thread !!